Month: February 2023

            A few weeks ago, when I first began working on today’s message, I received an unexpected text from my daughter Clarissa asking about the requirement of tithing and whether it remains in effect for New Testament Christians. Apparently, she was challenged by someone who believes that tithing is part of the Old Testament law that was fulfilled with Christ’s death on the cross. Those who believe this say that we are no longer required to give the tithe but are now living under grace giving in which the amount given is determined only by personal conscience. While we do agree the good conscience of believers necessarily encourages giving, we also believe grace giving informs us of a higher standard than the law. Grace will never lead us to do less than the law required.

            There is no reason to argue for lesser requirements since it is God who providentially supplies everything we have. Deuteronomy 8:18 says it is God who gives us the power to get wealth. Even under the law the principle of cheerful giving and giving above the tithe was operable and was never expected to be a cause of complaint. Giving God the firstfruits and the best was acknowledgement that God Himself is always faithful to supply whatever He requires.

            One of God’s most surprising acts of providence was His method of providing the materials for the tabernacle. In months gone by, we have spent much time studying the magnificent demonstrations of Christian doctrines expressed through tabernacle worship. The theological implications are astounding but no less miraculous is the way God providentially supplied the costly physical materials for a ragtag group of slaves to make such a place of worship. Unless we are acquainted with divine intervention in the way Israel received this wealth, we would never believe the structure they built in the desert was possible. It would not have been without God since this group of wanderers had just left 200 years of bondage in Egypt barely accumulating more than a few animals and the clothes on their backs. How was it possible this place of worship would be awash in the finest gold, silver, and precious jewels that God required?

            We would not imagine the Egyptians whose economy was dependent on slave labor would pay their servants to leave and to get out as fast as they could. This is what happened after God thoroughly thrashed them by bringing upon them ten devastating plagues. This practically caused the Egyptians to chase them out to ensure their own survival. When Israel left in the exodus, God told them to ask the Egyptians to give them what they needed for their journey. Their former taskmasters complied with such bounty and favor that Israel was loaded down with all the goods God would later require. The purpose was unknown at the time, but this is how God’s providence works. In a few weeks, the purpose for these valuables was revealed.

            Rather than commanding Moses to force the people to give up their newfound wealth, God told him to ask for freewill offerings. They responded with such enthusiasm that Moses had to halt their giving. It was enough, and poor Israel kept the rest for themselves. This is surely an example for us. We should not be anxious for what we do not have. Is our God able to supply every need even from unexplained sources?

            In today’s message, we see another example. When Israel entered the Promised Land, their first conquest was Jericho. God commanded that all spoils of their victory should be brought to His treasury. Instead, one was greedy, and his disobedience was repaid with his life and the lives of his family. He lost more than he stole not knowing that in the next conquest all the spoils of victory would belong to the people. He only needed to trust God for what He could not see.

            These are good examples for our faith in never being anxious for our provisions. How much do we lack because we do not trust God’s providence? It is the corner that you have not yet turned that God asks you to trust Him for. He always knows the next step because He planned it. Unwavering faith permits us to take it without fear.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

            In last week’s article, I asked you to think on this statement: “It is good that there is evil.” The existence of evil is a mind-boggling concept for any thinking person whether a believer in God or an atheist. Christians fumble with it trying to explain how a good God could allow it while at the same time being sovereign and with absolute power to prevent it. The theological discipline that attempts to explain this conundrum and to justify God is called theodicy. We are too often set back on our heels when confronted with savvy atheists who believe they have exposed a massive hole in the consistency of believing in God, or at least the God of the Bible. Though we may not be able to provide a convincing argument for them, we ought not to think they have won the day by exploiting a perceived incompatibility in Christian doctrine. They are faced with their own unsolvable riddle—what is the basis and explanation of moral good? This cannot exist without God who is the objective standard.

            My purpose today is not to plunge us into this argument. I doubt whether you or I are adequately prepared to tackle the philosophical aspects of this topic, and indeed, the best minds throughout the centuries have never adequately settled its issues. While caught on the horns of an unexplainable dilemma, some choose to deny the existence of either good or evil as if they are Swiss philosophical neutrals. It is much easier to deny good than evil. We might be indifferent towards acts of kindness, but we are surely absurdly neutral towards senseless acts of violence.

            We wrestle with evil and whether we understand God’s reason to allow it to exist, we must conclude God’s decision was righteous, just, holy, and good. He acts in no other ways. His decision is right because He made it. If we approach evil this way knowing that God will protect and perfect us through it, we will accept it as the best way forward to make us like Him and thus the best we can be. Evil itself does not do this, but our righteous, obedient response to it does.

            This is an appropriate time to consider this question since the progression of evil in our country is quickly nearing the point that it will destroy the life American Christians have known for more than 2 ½ centuries. Destruction of basic religious freedoms are no longer theoretical. In 2015, Supreme Court justices asked if same sex marriage would eventually erode religious freedom. Government administration advocates arguing for it said it would. At that time, a more liberal court decided the erosion is acceptable. Because of this, the government pushes harder at the limits to ensure every evil succeeds.

We know that evil is a powerful force with ability to inflict pain and suffering that task us to our personal limits. It does not exist by itself but is perpetrated upon us by evil beings that influence the mind and toy with our natural depravity. Each of us is aware of our own propensities and our helplessness against it. We require supernatural help to resist evil and flee from it. Since this is an unceasing battle, each encounter with evil forces us back to God. In this we reach a modicum of understanding of at least one reason God permits it. We are not troubled by good and thus a perfect life in this world would not cause us to depend on God. It is good that there is evil because evil strengthens our faith in the only one who can help us overcome it. It is good there is evil because we are forced to communicate with God to plead for the power of His Holy Spirit. It is good there is evil so that we are brought near to God to enjoy fellowship that we would not so readily seek if not for the overwhelming need to seek contentment that only righteousness can bring.

While we do not seek evil that a seemingly greater good may come (Romans 6:1), we are not frightened by the prospects it will be too debilitating for us to handle. Sometimes it seems this way when the evil morass of this culture makes us feel like the disciples in the storm on Galilee. We shall not be overcome, and God will show His power as He always does. We will never be free from threats because in God’s providence, it is good that evil exists.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

. . . Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good . . .

(Romans 12:9b)

I often wonder what life would be like if Christ had not saved me as a young child and I had grown up without the hope of the gospel and the fellowship of God’s people. I do not understand how it could be bearable. Most of you were saved later in life and you have the experience of both worlds. Truly, I can say I have not, but I surely declare it without complaint.

             The evidence of God’s love is seen in many ways both tangibly and intangibly. The internal evidence is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts while the external is in the acts of love and kindness we do in the name of the Saviour. When John the Baptist sent his disciples to investigate Jesus, he was seeking evidence that Jesus was the true Messiah. Jesus told these disciples to report to John about the miraculous ministry they witnessed: “The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” (Matthew 11:5). This is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. We need not be Bible scholars to assess that Jesus’ ministry was about caring for and helping people. This was not the modern social gospel for His ultimate purpose was the salvation of souls not feeding, clothing, and physically healing. Jesus said, “the gospel is preached,” which was the good news of salvation from sin, death, and hell through repentance from sin and faith in Him. This was the same message John preached. Jesus told John’s disciples to report that He was doing good for the people both physically and spiritually. He cared for them, and the kingdom He promised was one characterized by love and compassion for the whole person. This is taught throughout the New Testament from Jesus’ commendation of those who give a cup of cold water in His name to those who bear another’s burdens, and thus by Paul’s encouragement, fulfill the law of Christ. We are most like Christ when we care for other’s souls and then commit ourselves to their welfare. I could spend hours telling you how this characteristic of Christ’s kingdom has displayed itself in the past few weeks in my own home.

            I have written much without expressing my main thought for this article. I now find myself without space to finish what I intended for you today. Let me give you a few thoughts which I hope to conclude in the next article. These came to me while contemplating the existence of evil in the world and the constant conflict with it that we as God’s people are engaged. None of us has a completely satisfactory explanation for the reason evil exists. How did a good God allow for the introduction of evil into His creation? Because He did, some insist He can neither be good nor omnipotent, and thus not God. This sets the course for endless arguments to justify God while contemplating what seems to be impossible contradictions. This is known as theodicy which is the branch of theology that defends God’s goodness and justice in the face of the existence of evil. Justifying God is an enterprise that must be reverently undertaken with the cautious understanding that we are woefully inadequate with our finite sinful minds to probe even the bare beginnings of the mind of an infinite God. Nevertheless, the scriptures never demand we abandon all inquiries and park our brains without contemplating theological issues that defy complete understanding.

            Since I am out of space, I want you think on this statement for the next few days: “It is good that there is evil.” I will help you get you started. Reflect on what we believe about the sovereignty of God. You will begin to come to grips with it even though you may not completely understand how and why it is true. This much I am sure of without argument—we cannot begin to measure the goodness in the grace and mercy of God without admitting the abject evil that exists in each of our hearts (Matthew 15:19). We do not begin to understand the magnitude of God’s goodness without acknowledging the depths of our depravity. This is a great mystery. How are we now able to do that which is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour (1 Timothy 2:3)? Indeed, this is a mystery greater than the existence of evil.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

            You may remember a few weeks ago I wrote an article referring to a book given to me by my daughter Clarissa. We had just returned from a visit to Kentucky where I observed her tireless efforts trying to raise a flock of sheep with all the difficulties involved in such an enterprise. This is especially true for a novice without experience raising animals or managing a farm. I admire the work she does mostly because of her determination to make every encounter with her animals a learning experience that will teach her in some way a lesson about her relationship with the Lord.

            The book she loaned was A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller. I remembered saying in the first article that I might return to the book for more insight from this man who took his experiences raising sheep to help exposit the 23^rd Psalm. While searching for bulletin material, I decided to open the book again not expecting to find a few sentences that seemed congruent with the exact political and moral climate of today’s life in America. I kept in mind that the book was written in 1970 and my gleanings from his thoughts were probably more than he intended. I am sure he would agree that truth is timeless and human experiences do not radically change no matter how much time goes by.

            With this introduction, what is the thought that arrested my attention? I quote: “Our thoughts, our ideas, our emotions, our choices, our impulses, drives, and desires are all shaped and molded through the exposure of our minds to other people’s minds. In our modern era of mass communication, the danger of the ‘mass mind’ grows increasingly grave. Young people in particular, whose minds are so malleable, find themselves molded under the subtle pressures and impacts made on them by television, radio, magazines, newspapers, and fellow classmates, to say nothing of their parents and teachers.

            “Often the mass media that are largely responsible for shaping our minds are in the control of men whose character is not Christlike, who in some cases are actually anti-Christian. One cannot be exposed to such contacts without coming away contaminated.”

Since most of you probably have not read the book and do not know the context of this quote, what is the thought that immediately crosses your mind? How is this relatable? We can excuse the references to radio, magazines, and newspapers since time and technology have mostly erased these forms of communication to be replaced with social media apps and many others that I am too old to know or care about. I resist being political, but I could not escape how the media has shaped the public mind on vaccines, Black Lives Matter, LBGTQ++++, women’s rights, etc. We truly have succumbed to the “mass mind” referenced in this book. The public is molded in the direction of the liberal media by the unrelenting repetition of anti-Christian themes. In this satanic disposition, a new mass morality arises (rather, the same old human nature). It is immoral not to be vaccinated. It is immoral not to believe critical race theory. It is immoral not to accept that all white people are inherently racist. It is immoral not to acknowledge the personal pronouns of perverted people. Amazingly, it is immoral not to kill babies when caring for them would be quite bothersome to career choices.

            The indoctrination is unceasing, and the herd apparently has no immunity. Our society is spiritually infected with worms and scabs and every pestilence that plagues a shepherd trying to raise a healthy flock. The enemy of this “mass mind” is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the only salve that will heal the sin-sick mind. The Lord asks, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” The question is rhetorical. You are here today to hear the answer. Be thankful you are privileged to hear truth that is unchanging and yet long since obscured by those playing a dirge for the spiritually dead. Change the channel! Delete the apps! Open your Bible to hear the only message that will grant immunity to those who have too long listened to the mass media that preaches to the mass mind. Though this herd in this church is much smaller and of lesser influence than them, we serve the Lord whose morality saves us eternally.

Pastor V. Mark Smith